Swinging duplex clothesline pulley



July 13, 1943. J. c. ANDERSON 2,324,052

SWINGING DUPLEX CLOTHESLINE PULLEY Filed April 16, 1941 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Jlrseph G Andersuiz Patented July 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SWINGIN G DUPLEX CLOTHESLINE PULLEY Joseph C. Anderson, Torrington, Conn.

Application April 16, 1941, Serial No. 388,833

4 Claims.

This invention relates to clotheslines and more particularly to a duplex U-shaped bracket frame having a pair of widely spaced alined pulleys, said frame being mounted to swivel in a vertical position upon a post or other vertical support located at a distance from the usual single pulley at the house end of the clothesline.

One object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the above nature in which the upper and lower stretches of the clothesline are widely spaced apart at the end of the line most distant from the house, thus preventing any possibility of soiling, tangling, or tearing the clothes hung upon the lower stretch of the line due to coming in contact with the upper stretch of the line.

A further object is to provide an improved clothesline apparatus of the above nature which will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, ornamental in appearance, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing, one form in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a clothesline passing around a single pulley at the house end and around a pair of vertically alined pulleys mounted in a U-shaped frame at the other end of the clothesline apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the U-shaped duplex pulley frame as it appears when mounted to swivel upon a horizontal lag screw.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the duplex pulley frame, shown by itself, looking in the direction of the arrow 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the duplex pulley frame taken along the line 4-4 Fig. 2, looking downwardly.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the mid-portion of the duplex pulley frame looking in the direction of the arrow 5 of Fig. 2, the lag screw being shown in section.

Referring now to the drawing in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the duplex pulley frame of this invention comprises a pair of opposed U-shaped side members I0, lila, each including an elongated base ll, Ila, which is provided at its mid-point with an outwardly offset central bearing loop 12, [2a, for embracing a lag screw 21 to be hereinafter described.

The duplex bracket frame is also provided at its upper and lower extremities with two pairs of parallel short flat legs 13, l3a, and I4, Ma, respectively, the free extremities of said legs having spaced outwardly offset sections I5, l5a, and I51), 150, respectively, said sections being provided with opposed apertures l5 for receiving a pair of pin members I1 and IS, the extremities of which are preferably upset upon the outside surfaces of said offset sections l5, Iiia, i521, and IE0, respectively.

The side members It and Illa are permanently secured together, as by means of a plurality of spot welds-six being employed in this instance, to wit: four of such spot welds being located in the flat bases H and Ila, as indicated by the numerals I9, 20, 2|, 22, and two other spot welds 23, 26, being located in the curved sections 25, 26, joining the ends of the bases H and Ila with the legs I3, 130., and I4, Ida, respectively.

In order to attach the duplex pulley bracket frame to a vertical post 38 located at a distance from a similar post 39 at the house end of the clothesline apparatus, provision is made of a lag screw 21 having a smooth cylindrical outer section 23 (which is surrounded by the bearing loops I2 and l2a. at the midpoint of the duplex frame), and a threaded tapered inner section 28a which is adapted to be driven into the wooden post 38 by means of a wrench applied to the head 29 of said screw (see Fig. 2).

A washer 30 is preferably located between the lag screw head 29 and the bearing loops l2, IZa, of the flat bases of the side members Ill and Mia. A clothesline which is herein indicated by the numeral 3|, consists of an endless cord which is passed around a pair of pulleys 32 and 33, which are mounted for free rotation upon the horizontal pins IT and 18, located in the ends of the duplex frame as previously described. The clothesline 31 also passes around a single vertical pulley 34 mounted to rotate on a horizontal pin 35 secured to a single rigid pulley hook or bracket 36 attached to the house post 39, in any desired manner.

The free ends of the clothesline 3i are adapted to be detachably attached together in any suitable manner, as by an adjustable line clamp 36a.

Operation In use, after the clothes have been washed, they will be hung up to dry upon the lower stretch of the clothesline iii-one article of clothing being indicated by the numeral 31, and shown as attached to said line by clothespins 38a and 3941 (Fig. 1).

By means of the above construction it will be seen that the duplex pulley bracket will swing back and forth with the wind about the lag screw 21 upon which it is swiveled, but will be unable to make a complete revolution, so that the two stretches of the clothesline will always be maintained completely separated.

While there has been disclosed in this specification, one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures and may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a duplex clothesline pulley frame for receiving an endless clothesline, a pair of opposed U-shaped members made from flat strip metal spot welded to ether in face-to-face relation, said members having a pair of opposed bearing loops at the mid-points of the base thereof to form a swivel bearing for a horizontal lag screw which is adapted to be driven into a vertical pole or other support, and a pair of vertically alined pulleys journalled in the parallel end legs of said opposed U-shaped members.

2. In a duplex clothesline pulley frame for receiving an endless clothesline, a pair of opposed U-shaped members made from fiat strip metal secured together in face-to-f'ace relation, said members having a pair of outwardly-offset bearing loops at the midpoints of the bases thereof to form a swivel bearing upon a horizontal supporting means, and a pair of vertically alined pulleys journaled in the parallel end legs of said opposed U-shaped members.

3. In a clothesline pulley frame for receiving one end of an endless clothesline, a U-shaped member having at the center of its sides outwardly bowed complementary portions to provide a central enlarged hollow hub located halfway between the ends thereof to form a swivel bearing upon a horizontal supporting means mounted upon a vertical pole located at a distance from the house end of the clothesline apparatus, and a pair of vertically alined pulleys journaled in the upper and lower legs of said U-shaped member, said pulley frame being adapted to swivel and swing freely in the wind about said supporting means, and said pulleys being spaced-apart sufficiently so that washing hung on the lower stretch of said clothesline will not come into contact with the upper stretch of said clothesline and become entangled therewith, torn or soiled thereby, and yet said frame by reason of the central pivoting of said U-shaped member will swing freely and cause said washing to be quickly and efficiently dried in the wind without tearing.

4. In a clothes drier, a duplex clothesline pulley frame adapted to be located at a point distant from the loading end of a clothesline, said frame comprising vertically disposed spaced side walls carrying a pair of widely spaced-apart pulleys upon its opposite ends, each side wall being complementarily outwardly bowed to provide a bearing section located halfway between the ends thereof, whereby said member may be mounted upon a horizontal support located at said distant point to permit said member to swivel and swing freely by the action of the wind upon the washing hung upon the lower stretch of said clothesline, the weight of the clothes on the lower stretch of said clothesline tending to prevent said lower pulley from being rotated upwardly by the wind beyond the point where the two stretches of said clothesline are at substantially the same horizontal level and thus being soiled or torn by the upper stretch of said clothesline, and yet said washing by reason of the central pivoting of said frame will swing freely and rapidly and be quickly dried by the wind without tearing.

JOSEPH C. ANDERSON. 

